Newbie looking for some in-depth advice on choosing an insert

[bholler]

My 2 cents - Stay away from the Regency if you are planning on a lot of burning. After 10 years of heavy burning, the baffles and tubes are totally disintegrated as the pic will show. Regency says I "did not maintain" so the 'lifetime warranty' was denied. Regardless of the warranty, the stove will not take the abuse of being the main heat source.

Uhh. Yeah that was abused. If you had called your dealer when the damage started they absolutely would have covered it. We have many regencies out there that are way over 10 years with no problems. Mine has been a full time burner for 10 years and has no issues.

Did you not notice anything going wrong before you burnt the tubes off?

 

[LoveToBurn]

No nothing really wrong, the stove is still going strong! It's just gutted! Looking for a replacement now. Thinking of going to a Pacific Energy Summit as my Vista is a champ.

I believe this stove would still be going strong if I was a casual user. I burn approx 15 face cords of wood through that stove alone each season. Just not made for it.

 

[Rickb]

No nothing really wrong, the stove is still going strong! It's just gutted! Looking for a replacement now. Thinking of going to a Pacific Energy Summit as my Vista is a champ.

I believe this stove would still be going strong if I was a casual user. I burn approx 15 face cords of wood through that stove alone each season. Just not made for it.

5 cords a year is a lot but it looks like it was seriously over-fired to burn off the tubes like that.

 

[bholler]

No nothing really wrong, the stove is still going strong! It's just gutted! Looking for a replacement now. Thinking of going to a Pacific Energy Summit as my Vista is a champ.

I believe this stove would still be going strong if I was a casual user. I burn approx 15 face cords of wood through that stove alone each season. Just not made for it.

They are made for it mine and many others have done it. They are durable stoves and you should really figure out what you did wrong because you will do the same thing to any stove you put in there. What temps are you running at? How far do you shut it back? What does the draft measured at high fire?

I am not saying any of this to defend regency. I do sell them and I like mine but no skin off my back if you don't like them. I am just trying to prevent you from destroying your new stove as well.

And btw you should absolutely not be burning your stove like that.

 

[bholler]

5 cords a year is a lot but it looks like it was seriously over-fired to burn off the tubes like that.

Yeah it is allot but not abnormally high at all

 

[LoveToBurn]

Well usually buy about 10 face cords of cut and seasoned wood and cut the other 5 myself. I know there have been times that the stove gets fired up to 700 - 800 degrees accidentally but it is rare. We run a temp gauge so I know always know what the status is. Usually, we are burning in the 200 to 300 degree range which should be totally fine. We only let the stove roar for a short time to get the fire going and then dampen it back, that said we never totally dampen. We put a lot of wood through that stove to keep the heat coming. That's life in Canada with wood as the primary heat source!

 

[bholler]

Well usually buy about 10 face cords of cut and seasoned wood and cut the other 5 myself. I know there have been times that the stove gets fired up to 700 - 800 degrees accidentally but it is rare. We run a temp gauge so I know always know what the status is. Usually, we are burning in the 200 to 300 degree range which should be totally fine. We only let the stove roar for a short time to get the fire going and then dampen it back, that said we never totally dampen. We put a lot of wood through that stove to keep the heat coming. That's life in Canada with wood as the primary heat source!

How and where are you measuring those temps? Again 5 cords is by no means abnormally high. I did at least that for years at my old house.

 

[LoveToBurn]

I have a temp gauge on the single wall pipe above the stove. I agree 5 bush cords should not be that abnormal. But over 10 years it has taken its toil.

 

[bholler]

I have a temp gauge on the single wall pipe above the stove. I agree 5 bush cords should not be that abnormal. But over 10 years it has taken its toil.

Well 7 to 800 on the surface of single wall is a drastic overfiring. That is what took it's toll not the volume of wood. And again stop burning the stove now it is unsafe to run in that condition.

 

[Woody Stover]

How far do you shut it back?

 

[LoveToBurn]

I agree that 700 - 800 the odd time is hot but to call it drastic is a bit of an exaggeration. To think that a stove will never go over that for most is simply not reality. And as I say its rare but for me to say otherwise would not be honest. I am sure if the stove was used less or always kept on low temps it would never have an issue, again not reality.

As far as not running the stove, as I said, I am looking (ie. shopping) for a replacement now. I can assure you it will not be Regency!!

 

[LoveToBurn]

In the day it gets dampened about 2/3's. At night almost all the way.

 

[bholler]

I agree that 700 - 800 the odd time is hot but to call it drastic is a bit of an exaggeration. To think that a stove will never go over that for most is simply not reality. And as I say its rare but for me to say otherwise would not be honest. I am sure if the stove was used less or always kept on low temps it would never have an issue, again not reality.

As far as not running the stove, as I said, I am looking (ie. shopping) for a replacement now. I can assure you it will not be Regency!!

It is drastic and if you do it to any other stove you will end up with the same results. And no most people don't over fire their stove anywhere near that bad I know I don't because I have an alarm that goes off at 500 and a second set at 600 I have never hit the second and only hit the first 2 or 3 times. Like I said in my old house my 3100 was run hard all winter every day running 5 to 6 cords a year through it with no I'll effects at all. And those were cords not face cords bush cords or any other random measurment. You need to get your burning practices under control or you will destroy any stove you install.

 

[Woody Stover]

In the day it gets dampened about 2/3's. At night almost all the way.

OK, then. Looked like maybe you ran it pretty much full tilt, trying to get more heat up there in the frozen north. I have to guess then, that those times that it got away from you, it really got away. I use my phone timer so I don't space it out and roast my stove and chimney..

 

[bholler]

Now that Woody mentioned it I would make sure to have the chimney inspected properly as well. Because if you burnt out a stove that bad you may have cooked the chimney as well. At the temps you gave us you were well over the normal operating temps of your chimney.

 

[LoveToBurn]

With all due respect, I would not expect any different out of a Regency dealer! It is what it is.

My Pacific Energy in my garage (bought used and installed the same time) is such a champ and is not disintegrating. I do not use it as much but it does experience the 'odd overfire' - you know, those 'out of control burning practices' of mine!

 

[GooseChaser]

Rough is fine.

Open up your mind. If I had to do it all over again, 10 years later, the PE insert would have been an Englander 30 in the middle of the house, instead of an insert at the end of the house. Live & learn

Here you go. I am not an artist by any means haha!


I realize the odds against me by it being in a small room, on the end of the house, with the prevailing winds coming from the North West.

 

[bholler]

With all due respect, I would not expect any different out of a Regency dealer! It is what it is.

My Pacific Energy in my garage (bought used and installed the same time) is such a champ and is not disintegrating. I do not use it as much but it does experience the 'odd overfire' - you know, those 'out of control burning practices' of mine!

Like I said I am not defending regency. I am a sweep who sells a few stoves a year. It is a tiny part of our buisness. And if I thought it was a failure on the stoves part I would gladly say that. And it is entirley possible it started that way but you neglected the maintenance of the stove so badly there is no way to tell anything at this point.

 

[bholler]

Here you go. I am not an artist by any means haha!


I realize the odds against me by it being in a small room, on the end of the house, with the prevailing winds coming from the North West.

Yeah that is about the last location I would choose for a stove to heat the house from. It isn't impossible but you will really have a hard time distributing the heat.

 

[GooseChaser]

Yeah that is about the last location I would choose for a stove to heat the house from. It isn't impossible but you will really have a hard time distributing the heat.

Yeah if I had the ability to easily change it, I would. Not really looking to do a whole new installation though.

 

[Dix]

Can you open up the wall from the den to the living room?

That's going to be a tough space to heat, for sure.

 

[woodhog73]

I live in upper Midwest. Near Canada. It’s currently minus 20 degrees out going down to negative 35 tonight. We are currently the coldest place on the continent colder than Alaska even ( Northern Minnesota ) and I have a quadrafire 3100 insert. My house is a large ranch. My living room and kitchen are 80 degrees using only the Quad for heat. It will heat you out of the living room. Awesome heater.

Its a non flush mount. Lots of radiant heat and a blower if I need more.

 

[GooseChaser]

Can you open up the wall from the den to the living room?

That's going to be a tough space to heat, for sure.

I would like to at some point. I kicked myself for not doing it when we opened up between the living room and kitchen.


Ooooh if only I could build one!

 

[edyit]

I agree that 700 - 800 the odd time is hot but to call it drastic is a bit of an exaggeration.

no it's not an exaggeration. 700-800 on the outside of the pipe is ~2x that inside it. so 1400 - 1600. that's an overfire. no exaggeration.

 

[Tegbert]

I would put a freestanding stove here if I could.

That way with the blower on it would move the heat towards the bedrooms and if it got too hot I could retreat to the den.

My house is a similar layout but the den is even with the kitchen and a rec room in the converted garage under the den. My insert does a good job heating from the den in 32° plus weather but has to be run higher when cold but I have a big opening from the kitchen to the den.


Lopi Rockport
Blaze King Ashford 25